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IN 1991, when Soviet Communism collapsed, it seemed as if the Russian people might at last have the chance to become citizens of a normal Western democracy. Vladimir Putin’s disastrous contribution to Russia’s history has been to set his country on a different path. And yet many around the world, through self-interest or self-deception, have been unwilling to see Mr Putin as he really is.

The shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the killing of 298 innocent people and the desecration of their bodies in the sunflower fields of eastern Ukraine, is above all a tragedy of lives cut short and of those left behind to mourn. But it is also a measure of the harm Mr Putin has done. Under him Russia has again become a place in which truth and falsehood are no longer distinct and facts are put into the service of the government. Mr Putin sets himself up as a patriot, but he is a threat—to international norms, to his neighbours and to the Russians themselves, who are intoxicated by his hysterical brand of anti-Western propaganda.

The world needs to face the danger Mr Putin poses. If it does not stand up to him today, worse will follow.

Crucifiction and other stories

Mr Putin has blamed the tragedy of MH17 on Ukraine, yet he is the author of its destruction. A high-court’s worth of circumstantial evidence points to the conclusion that pro-Russian separatists fired a surface-to-air missile out of their territory at what they probably thought was a Ukrainian military aircraft. Separatist leaders boasted about it on social media and lamented their error in messages intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence and authenticated by America (see article).

Russia’s president is implicated in their crime twice over. First, it looks as if the missile was supplied by Russia, its crew was trained by Russia, and after the strike the launcher was spirited back to Russia. Second, Mr Putin is implicated in a broader sense because this is his war. The linchpins of the self-styled Donetsk People’s Republic are not Ukrainian separatists but Russian citizens who are, or were, members of the intelligence services. Their former colleague, Mr Putin, has paid for the war and armed them with tanks, personnel carriers, artillery—and batteries of surface-to-air missiles. The separatists pulled the trigger, but Mr Putin pulled the strings.

The enormity of the destruction of flight MH17 should have led Mr Putin to draw back from his policy of fomenting war in eastern Ukraine. Yet he has persevered, for two reasons. First, in the society he has done so much to mould, lying is a first response. The disaster immediately drew forth a torrent of contradictory and implausible theories from his officials and their mouthpieces in the Russian media: Mr Putin’s own plane was the target; Ukrainian missile-launchers were in the vicinity. And the lies got more complex. The Russian fiction that a Ukrainian fighter jet had fired the missile ran into the problem that the jet could not fly at the altitude of MH17, so Russian hackers then changed a Wikipedia entry to say that the jets could briefly do so. That such clumsily Soviet efforts are easily laughed off does not defeat their purpose, for their aim is not to persuade but to cast enough doubt to make the truth a matter of opinion. In a world of liars, might not the West be lying, too?

Second, Mr Putin has become entangled in a web of his own lies, which any homespun moralist could have told him was bound to happen. When his hirelings concocted propaganda about fascists running Kiev and their crucifixion of a three-year-old boy, his approval ratings among Russian voters soared by almost 30 percentage points, to over 80%. Having roused his people with falsehoods, the tsar cannot suddenly wriggle free by telling them that, on consideration, Ukraine’s government is not too bad. Nor can he retreat from the idea that the West is a rival bent on Russia’s destruction, ready to resort to lies, bribery and violence just as readily as he does. In that way, his lies at home feed his abuses abroad.

Stop spinning

In Russia such doublespeak recalls the days of the Soviet Union when Pravda claimed to tell the truth. This mendocracy will end in the same way as that one did: the lies will eventually unravel, especially as it becomes obvious how much money Mr Putin and his friends have stolen from the Russian people, and he will fall. The sad novelty is that the West takes a different attitude this time round. In the old days it was usually prepared to stand up to the Soviet Union, and call out its falsehoods. With Mr Putin it looks the other way.

Take Ukraine. The West imposed fairly minor sanctions on Russia after it annexed Crimea, and threatened tougher ones if Mr Putin invaded eastern Ukraine. To all intents and purposes, he did just that: troops paid for by Russia, albeit not in Russian uniforms, control bits of the country. But the West found it convenient to go along with Mr Putin’s lie, and the sanctions eventually imposed were too light and too late. Similarly, when he continued to supply the rebels, under cover of a ceasefire that he claimed to have organised, Western leaders vacillated.

Since the murders of the passengers of MH17 the responses have been almost as limp. The European Union is threatening far-reaching sanctions—but only if Mr Putin fails to co-operate with the investigation or he fails to stop the flow of arms to the separatists. France has said that it will withhold the delivery of a warship to Mr Putin if necessary, but is proceeding with the first of the two vessels on order. The Germans and Italians claim to want to keep diplomatic avenues open, partly because sanctions would undermine their commercial interests. Britain calls for sanctions, but it is reluctant to harm the City of London’s profitable Russian business. America is talking tough but has done nothing new.

Enough. The West should face the uncomfortable truth that Mr Putin’s Russia is fundamentally antagonistic. Bridge-building and resets will not persuade him to behave as a normal leader. The West should impose tough sanctions now, pursue his corrupt friends and throw him out of every international talking shop that relies on telling the truth. Anything else is appeasement—and an insult to the innocents on MH17.

»Ukrainian Prime Minister Resigns25/07/14 12:33 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from The Moscow Times Top Stories. Ukraine's prime minister tendered his resignation Thursday, berating parliament for failing to pass legislation to take control over the country's increasingly precarious ener...

»Obama pressed to act against Russi25/07/14 12:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from EU-RussiaCentre. US President Barack Obama is facing fierce pressure from both US political parties to impose unilateral US penalties on the Russian economy. The article notes that Obama finds himself caug...

»MH17's quiet, abandoned crash site25/07/14 11:07 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. MH17's quiet, abandoned crash site At the MH17 crash site there's very little action, even though there's much more work to be done. Phil Black reports. From: CNNInternational ...

»MH17 not the first plane shot down25/07/14 11:06 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. MH17 not the first plane shot down CNN's George Howell reports on the U.S. downing of an Iranian passenger plane in 1988. From: CNNInternational Views: 0 0 ratings Time: 02:53 ...

»U.S. confirms shots fired from Russia25/07/14 10:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. U.S. confirms shots fired from Russia The U.S. says it now has proof that Russia is actively firing into Ukraine. CNN's Phil Black reports. From: CNNInternational Views: 0 0 ra...

»U.S. lifts ban on flights to Israel24/07/14 11:45 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. U.S. lifts ban on flights to Israel The Federal Aviation Administration removed its ban on U.S. flights to and from Tel Aviv. CNN's Martin Savidge reports. From: CNNInternation...

»Missing Algerie flight prompts search24/07/14 10:34 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. Missing Algerie flight prompts search An Air Algerie flight, with 116 people on board, has dropped off the radar, prompting a search for the missing plane. From: CNNInternation...

»In Russia, Crime Without Punishment24/07/14 09:53 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from TIME » Time Sections » World. The scene was almost too horrible to take in, and yet in a world of bristling threats no scene has been more revealing: under the baking July sun of eastern Ukraine, hundreds ...

»In The Latest Issue24/07/14 09:30 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from TIME » Time Sections » World. In Russia, Crime Without Punishment Vladimir Putin backs the rebels suspected of shooting down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Why each new crisis makes him stronger From Gaza to...

»Air Algerie Flight Goes Missing24/07/14 09:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Voice of America. An Air Algerie flight carrying 116 people has disappeared has gone missing during a trip from Burkina Faso to Algiers. Spanish airline Swiftair said its plane, which was being operated by...

»Air Algerie Flight Reported Missing24/07/14 09:12 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from WSJ.com: World News. An Air Algerie airplane traveling from Burkina Faso to Algiers with 110 passengers and 6 crew members on board was reported missing by the Spanish company that operated the plane.

»Ukraine: Two military jets shot down23/07/14 20:13 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Uploads by CNNInternational. Ukraine: Two military jets shot down Phil Black talks to Jim Clancy about two Ukrainian fighter jets that were shot down in the eastern part of Ukraine. From: CNNInternational ...

»US Ambassador Calls for LGBT Rights23/07/14 20:10 from Mike Nova's Shared Newslinksmikenova shared this story from Voice of America. The U.S. ambassador to Australia said it should not be a crime to be a member of the LGBT community. Ambassador John Berry told the 20th international AIDS Conference that the fight again...

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